Guard rail assembly



Oct. 1l, 1955 G. H. RIDDLE GUARD RAIL. ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. lO 1951 j /Z mp j l INVENTOR V60/ye IZ Iii 1 United States Patent() GUARD RAIL ASSEMBLY George H. Riddle, Bethlehem, Pa., assignor to Bethlehem Steel Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 10, 1,951, Serial No. 205,275

11 Claims. (Cl. 23S-19) This application relates in general to railway track equipment, more particularly to an improved guard rail assembly, and is a continuation-.in-part of my prior app1ication, Serial No. 664,535, iiled April 24, 1946,` now Patent No. 2,542,840, issued February 20, 1951.

It is conventional railroad practice, at places such as switches, frogs `and .curves where theremay be some possibility of derailments, to `employ inner guard rails adjacent to and parallel to a main .or running rail to hold the wheel-flanges against said main rail. In this service it is obvious that safety is the primary essential.

One object` of `this invention, therefore, is to provide a guard rail assembly `of increased reliability, rigidity, and sturdiness.

A further object is to` provide a welded `assembly with positive resistance to creeping under continued heavy traffic.

A further object is an assembly which is adapted to the use of lateral braces.

A further object is `an assembly requiring a minimum of machining in order to permit a vertical or canted main rail to be used.

Another object is an assembly in which the lateral pressure on the guardrail tending to `overturn it is simultaneously opposed by the downward pressure on the main rail.

Still another object is a welded assembly in which double side shoulders provide a strong and rigid clamping effect, with resultant resistance to lateral thrusts and easier maintenance of alignment. p

Other and further objects, advantages and purposes of this invention will appear hereinafter in the specification and in the appended claims.

In order to render my invention more clear, I shall now refer to the attached sheet of drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like figures of reference indicate like parts.

Figure l is a reduced-scale top plan view of a guard rail assembly in which the base plate is welded to both the guard rail plate and the main rail tie plate in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of an assembly wherein only the guard rail plate is welded to the base plate, and the main rail tie plate and the base plate are bolted together. t

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the running or main rail, preferably of standard T shape as shown; and 2 the guard rail, of which the head 3 may for increased service have the greater portion of the metal disposed on its inner or wheel-flange engaging side 4 as shown. The base of said guard rail is provided with a flat outer flange 5 of substantially standard shape, and with an inwardly projecting and downwardly inclined hook flange 6.

Each rolled steel long bridging guard rail plate 7 is Patented Oct. 11., 1955 provided with a deep, closeditting shoulder 8 abutting the edge of the outer flange 5 of the guard rail, and with a seat 9 having a longitudinal recess 10 and contoured to receive the hook flange 6 resting snugly therein. A pair of thick, heavy inclined side braces 11 `having their upper ends abutting the head 3 and web 12 of the guard rail 2 and Welded at their lower base edges by seams 13 `to the guard rail plate 7 may be employed to provide additional strength and rigidity in the center of said guard rail in the straight guarding zone opposite `the frog point, where it is most needed.

The main rail 1 is seated on the bridging tie plate 14, which is provided with a deep, close-itting shoulder `1S abutting the edge of the outer flange 16 of said main rail 1 and cooperating with the shoulder 8 to aid in maintaining rail alignment. The inner flange 17 of said rail 1 is arranged and adapted to overhang the short inner side 18 of the tie plate 14 and to rest upon the inner hook flange 6 of the guard rail 2 to prevent its overturning. The seat of said tie plate 14 may either be flat, to accommodate a vertical main rail as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, or canted to accommodate a canted rail, whichever may be desired.

A narrow rectangular cross-piece or transverse base plate 19` is secured around its edges centrally beneath each` guard rail plate 7 by the Welded seam 20 and is similarly secured to the main rail tie plate 14 by the welded seam 21, as shown in Fig. 2, giving an integral assembly of great strength and rigidity which by its clamp effect prevents any possibility of accidental spreading of the guard and running rails.

The base plate 19, the guard rail plate 7, and the outer flange 5 of the guard rail 2 are each provided with registering transverse bolt holes through which pass standard track bolts 22 secured by washers 23 and 24 and nuts 25. A plurality of punched square holes 26 in each bridging guard rail plate 7 and tie plate 14 allows said plates to be secured by the spikes 27 to the adjacent supporting ties 28, between which, and generally without touching said ties, the base plate 19 is held suspended.

It will be perceived that I have thus provided a very strong and rigid guard rail assembly of relatively inexpensive and simple rolled sections. The long guard rail plate 7 and main rail tie plate 14 support their respective rails, distribute the rail and traic weight evenly over pairs of adjacent ties and effectively resist slewing, while sidewise movements of the rails are prevented by the deep rail-engaging shoulders 8 and 15 and by the welded connecting base plate 19.

While the rugged construction of the above-described assembly renders it especially suitable for placement at the center of the guard rail, obviously it may also be employed to protect the end portions of the guard rail, or be used in conjunction with other types of end assemblies where desired.

In the modified assembly shown in Fig. 3, the diagonally directed outer shoulder 29 of the base plate 19' fitting into the similarly diagonally directed cut-away outer portion 30 of the tie plate 14 allows the iangeway between the rails to be made wider or narrower by a simple longitudinal adjustment of the tie plate 14 on the base plate 19'. Fastening means comprise a pair of track bolts 31 passing upward through diagonally disposed oval slots 32 in the base plate 19 and through registering round holes 33 in the tie plate 14 and holes in the clip 34 bearing against the outer liange of the rail 1, said bolts 31 being retained in place by lock-washers 35 and nuts 36.

Although I have hereinabove shown and described my invention in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the exact and specific structures stated, but may use such substitutes, modications or equivalents 3 thereof asare within the scope and spirit of the invention and of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a main rail, a tie plate on which said main rail is seated, a guard rail parallel to the main rail, a guard rail plate on which said guard rail is seated, and a base plate welded beneath the guard rail plate and the main rail tie plate.

2. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a tie plate having an outer shoulder, a main rail seated on said tie plate with its outer base flange abutting said outer shoulder, a guard rail plate spaced inwardly from the tie plate and having an inner shoulder, a guard rail seated on said guard rail plate with its inner base flange abutting said inner shoulder, ties to which said tie plate and guard rail plate are spiked, and a base plate between said ties holding in permanently fixed relation said tie plate and guard rail plate.

3. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a guard rail having a downwardly depending outer flange, a guard rail plate on which said guard rail is seated, a main rail in parallel relation to the guard rail and having its inner ange resting upon said outer guard rail flange, a tie plate on which said main rail is seated, and a base plate connecting Said guard rail plate and tie plate.

4. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a guard rail having a downwardly inclined outer ange and a substantially standard inner flange, a plate seating said guard rail and having a shoulder abutting the inner flange thereof, a standard main rail positioned with its inner ange resting upon the guard rail outer flange, a tie plate seating said main rail and having a shoulder abutting the outer flange of the main rail, and a base plate connecting the guard rail plate and the tie plate.

5. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a main rail, a tie plate seating said rail and provided with a shoulder bearing against the outer ange of said rail, a guard rail parallel to the main rail, a guard rail plate seating said guard rail, and a base plate extending centrally beneathA the tie plate and guard rail plate and welded thereto.

6. In aguard rail assembly, the combination of a guard rail provided with an inner ange vof substantially Vstandard shape and with an outwardly projecting and downwardly inclined hook ange, a guard rail plate provided with a shoulder abutting the inner flange of the guard rail and having a recessed seat adapted to receive the hook ange thereof, inclined braces having their upper ends abutting the head and web of the guard rail and welded at their lower base edges to the guard rail plate, a main rail of standard shape spaced outwardly of and parallel to the guard rail and having its inner flange resting upon the outer hook ange of said guard rail, a tie plate seating said main rail and provided with a shoulder abutting the outer ange of said main rail, said guard rail plate and tie plate being adapted to span a pair of ties, and a base plate welded along its edges beneath the guard rail plate and the tie plate.

7. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a guard rail, a main rail, tie plates underlying the guard rail and the main rail respectively and adapted to span the space between a pair of adjacent ties, and a base plate underlying the tie plates and secured thereto.

8. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a guard rail, a main rail, tie plates underlying the guard rail and the main rail respectively and adapted to span the space between adjacent ties, a shoulder on each tie plate in engagement with a ange of the rail thereon, and a base plate underlying said tie plates and secured thereto.

9. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a guard rail, a main rail, separate tie plates underlying the guard rail and the main rail respectively and adapted to span the space between adjacent ties, braces abutting the guard rail and secured to its tie plate, and a base plate underlying the tie plates and secured thereto.

l0. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a guard rail, a main rail, tie plates underlying the guard rail and the main rail respectively and adapted to span the space between adjacent ties, and a base plate underlying and secured to the tie plates and adapted to lie between said adjacent ties.

ll. In a guard rail assembly, the combination of a guard rail, a main rail, tie plates underlying the guard rail and the main rail respectively and adapted to span the space between adjacent ties, a base plate underlying the tie plates and welded thereto, and through means securing the guard rail to its tie plate and the base plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 836,436 Clary Nov. 20, 1906 836,881 Hippey Nov. 27,. 1906 933,123 Scott Sept. 7, 1909 1,528,571 Salsich Mar. 3, 1925 2,542,840 Riddle Feb. 20, 1951 

